Finally Found- Wu Xie x Zhang Qiling

Chapter 2

Wu Xie woke up early the next morning so that he wouldn't accidently miss the group in case they wanted to leave early. Getting out of bed after gathering enough will power, he pulled himself up only to feel slightly light-headed and the room to spin in fast circles.

Stumbling back to the side of the bed, he sat down for a few minutes, taking in deep breaths to calm his racing heart.

I must be low on iron, I should pack the tablets as well.

After a few minutes, his dizziness subsided and he cautiously stood up. Slowly making his way to the bathroom, he freshened up and did his regular morning routine. After he was done brushing and taking a quick hot shower, he changed into a lavender coloured t-shirt and a pair of dark blue pyjamas. He headed downstairs and halfway down, and saw his uncle and Pan Zi talking to someone.

That's the same guy who bought the Sacred Sword! Did he come to return it? But I don't see it anywhere....

As Wu Xie was busy trying to figure out the man, subconsciously even staring at him, the hooded guy suddenly whipped his head in Wu Xie's direction with extreme precision, almost as if he knew where Wu Xie was standing and Wu Xie flinched.

Having being caught staring red-handed, Wu Xie coughed to chase away his embarrassment.

"Good morning Uncle! Morning Pan Zi!" He wished and Wu Sanxing turned around along with Pan Zi.

"Morning Wu Xie. How are you up so early today?" Wu Sanxing asked, Wu Xie usually slept like a log so this was kind of odd.

"Yeah, you okay?" Pan Zi asked, a hint of tease in his voice which Wu Xie ignored for the moment.

"Dunno, my eyes opened on their own and for some reason I couldn't go back to sleep." He turned to face the stranger and as soon as he locked eyes with him, he realized just how attractive and mysterious the man looked, especially his eyes. Dark, hooded and calculating. Wu Xie felt as if the man could see right into his soul with one look.

"H-hey! My name is Wu Xie. And yours?" Wu Xie began, mentally face-palming himself for stuttering.

"....." The stranger only stared intently at Xu Xie as if trying to understand what the latter would gain from learning something so unimportant. Wu Xie raised his brows and gave a questioning look, silently encouraging the latter to speak up.

"....Zhang Qiling." The man said in a small voice and Pan Zi's eyes widened in shock, this was the first time Zhang had actually responded with his voice rather a small nod or complete ignorance. Wu Xie on the other only let out a small 'oh' as a response.

"Uncle, Pan Zi, have you eaten breakfast yet?" Wu Xie asked and both shook their heads.

"We were waiting for you to wake up so we could eat together but didn't expect the wait to be so short." Sanxing teased and Wu Xie was tempted to roll his eyes.

"What about you, Xiaoge?" Wu Xie asked turning to Zhang again and the Pan Zi coughed, no one ever addressed Zhang that casually and he was afraid of how the man in question would react.

"No." Another short reply fell out of Zhang's lips and Wu Xie nodded in undertstanding.

"Alright then, wanna join us?" Wu Xie asked and Zhang nodded softly.

On the table, Wu Sanxing was seated on the chair of the household. Zhang sat across from Wu Xie while Pan Zi right next to the latter.

"How do you do that?" Pan Zi asked, leaning into Wu Xie's ears getting a confused look in return. He waved his hand in a dismissing manner as hee shook his head. Ignoring the rather odd statement, Wu Xie began eating again.

"When are you leaving?" He asked and Sanxing sighed. He knew what his nephew would ask if he answered this question.

"No need for that reaction, I am not gonna insist in coming. i just want to know." Wu Xie reassured and Sanxing felt a little taken aback.

Odd....

"Okay then, we are planning to leave around 12 o'clock. Right Pan Zi?"

"Yes, its safer to travel during the day."

All the while, Zhang was eating quietly stealing a glance of Wu Xie once in a while. He didn't know why but he felt drawn to Wu Xie like a moth to a flame. Shaking his head, he tried to focus back on his food only to be distracted by his voice again.

As soon as he finished his food, Zhang got up and accidently cut his finger from a small silver of wood of the table. He let out a soft hiss and Wu Xie's ears perked up.

"Xiaoge! You okay?" He asked worriedly as he stood up from his seat, moving towards Zhang and took his hand in his to examine the wound.

"Wait here, I'll get a bandage." Wu Xie said and he as turned to leave he felt Zhang grab his arm.

"It's a small wound, don't worry." Zhang said and Wu Xie shook his head. "It may be small, but it will still sting so wait here." He said and left the room in search for a first-aid kit.

"Your nephew charmed him." Pan Zi said and Wu Sanxing raised a brow.

"What do you mean?"

"Zhang never replies to anyone and this long of a sentence? Nope. Many of my teammates call him "The Mute Zhang" cause he never talks and not only that, this was also the first time I saw him care about someone."

At that, Zhang turned in Pan Zi's direction with a chilling gaze and the latter immediately shut his mouth causing Sanxing to let out stiffled giggle. In the meantime, Wu Xie finally found a small band aid and headed towards the dining table.

"Xiaoge, show me your hand." Wu Xie ordered and Zhang immediately obliged, allowing the younger to tend to his cut as Pan Zi watched the exchange in complete amazement.

Soon after his injury was tended to, Zhang glanced over to Sanxing, asking if it was time to leave with just eyes. Undertstanding the silent question, Sanxing stood up.

"Alright, Pan Zi and Zhang, get ready as we leave in 5 minutes okay?" He announced and the addressed individuals nodded in agreement.

After a few minutes, there were around fifteen men in the veranda, checking if they left anything important or not for the last time. These were men that Sanxing hired to do small works here and there so that he does not get lost in taking care of trivial matters. While everyone was distracted, Wu Xie slipped out of the crowd of men to his room to give his own bag a last check.

"Flashlight......check, diary....check, a small knife....check." He kept mumbling to himself as he went through his bag. Feeling satisfied that he had everything, he quickly booked a cab to follow the group. Looking out his bedroom window, he saw Zhang already staring in his direction and as soon as they made eye contact, he got into the car. It was almost as if Zhang was waiting for Wu Xie and the latter was left in deep thought.

"The Cavern of the Blood Zombies huh? Sounds grosteque than exciting, are you sure you wanna go?" A new voice interjected, slicing through his train of endless thoughts.

"Of course Pangzi, trying discover mysteries is what I love to do most. You gonna come with me or not?"

"Can't leave someone so naive on their own. By the way, you came here searching for a band aid in such hurry, where did you cut yourself?" Pangzi asked and Wu Xie's cheeks dusted a very light shade of pink.

"Wasn't me, it was Xiaoge." He said and the latter knitted his brows.

"And who is that guy?"

"Remember I told you someone bought the Sacred sword? It was him and for some reason, uncle is taking that guy too for this mission."

"You're curious why?"

"Yes. Now stop wasting time, our cab is here. Let's show my dearest uncle that I can actually go on an expedition myself." Wu Xie said as a small smirk adorned his lips.